One Night with Hemsworth (One Night Series Book 1) (9 page)

I pulled back. “Is that what you want me to do?” I sat up, pulling the sheet over me, suddenly realising this was how he planned to make me run away. “Was that all a lie so I would leave?” My ears were burning, and I was sure they’d turned red from my onslaught of sudden anger bubbling up inside me.

He sat up next to me and shook his head. “I’m not lying. But any smart girl would be heading for the hills after finding something like that out. And you need to run away from me, because I’m not going to be the one to put a stop to this. I need to, but I don’t want to.”

My breathing settled, and my anger began to dissipate, although, not completely. “Everyone has a past and it’s clear you’ve learned from yours,” I mumbled.

“Have I, though? I took you home even though I was drunk and knew I shouldn’t. I could’ve hurt you.”

“But you didn’t.”

He grunted and threw his head back on the pillow. “You weren’t meant to accept this.”

“You wanted me to hate you for it? For something you did three years ago? Something that you’ve worked hard to rectify? You got clean, you’re sober … well, except for last week, but you’re making an effort, and you obviously care about the consequences—”

“Don’t you get it? Guys like me don’t get to have relationships because it’s a compulsion. Say we started something and it was going great, we got married, yadda, yadda, yadda, and then I got angry one day and took it out on you or one of our kids. There’s a ticking time-bomb inside of me and anything could set it off. It’s why I don’t want any of that again.”

“But it doesn’t have to be like that. With counselling and sobriety, there should be no reason—”

“Please stop. You accepting my past is even worse than telling me you’d slept with a hundred guys. It only makes me want you more … wait, that sounded wrong.”

I was glad we could manage a smile, but it still didn’t mean there was any way around what was happening in that moment.

“If you really want me to walk out of here and not pursue this, then I will.”

He didn’t respond, pretty much giving me my answer.

“I’ll get dressed and go,” I said quietly.

“You don’t have to do that. Just stay tonight and I can drop you home in the morning.”

“That’s probably not the best idea. Dad or Reece might see you.”

He shrugged. “We’ll tell them you spent the night with Hunter and I’m just dropping you off. As much as I need you to walk away from me, I’m not ready to let you yet.” He pulled me down so I was lying in his arms again.

“You’re so contradictory and confusing.”

He laughed. “Add it to the list of reasons why we’d suck as a couple.”

11

- COLE -

Shortcake:

I hate mangoes. I know that’s weird because everyone loves them, but they’re gross. Just another thing to add to the list.

Cole:

Yup, definitely. I don’t date crazy people, and not liking mangoes is definitely crazy behaviour.

Shortcake:

Says the man who loves Brussel sprouts. You should’ve led with that one, I would’ve been out the door before you had the chance to tell me about your past.

Cole:

*sigh* I really am sorry I dumped all of that on you.

Shortcake:

Did you just sigh in a text message? That’s definitely going on my list.

Got class, talk later.

I knew we were in dangerous territory. We’d ended things on Saturday morning, I dropped her home, and as far as I knew, no one was there so no one saw us. I spent all day trying to come up with ways around it, ways we could make it work, but between Reece’s relationship with Paul, my past, and then Cody to consider, the cons far outweighed the pros of starting something proper with her.

The texting started on Sunday. A simple message from her that read:

Shortcake:

I kicked a puppy last night. You’re welcome. I did it for us.

I laughed so hard when I read it, I couldn’t help responding, and it snowballed from there. We’d been texting daily, and while it started out as texts to justify our decision not to give it a shot, the more we messaged, the more I learned about her and the more I wanted to see her again.

I found myself hoping for a text, constantly staring and checking my phone in case I’d missed something. I always responded immediately, unable to resist replying whenever one did come through.

So when Friday night rolled around, I was a jumble of nerves going to pick Cody up for the weekend.

A huge part of me was hoping she’d be out. But the other part of me was happy when she was the one who opened the door. No, not happy, ecstatic.

“Hey, come in. Cody’s in his room.”

I ran my hand through my hair awkwardly, suddenly feeling ridiculously nervous, which was stupid considering I’d seen the girl naked twice already. “Uh … thanks.”

She closed the door behind me and led me to Cody’s room, which I still hadn’t seen considering I left so abruptly two weeks ago.

He was on his bed playing his PS2.

“Hey, buddy, ready to go?”

“Five more minutes?” he begged, not even looking at me.

“I dunno …”

“Dad and Reece have gone to dinner and a movie. Then they were going to head to the pub so all of your friends can meet him. They aren’t here,” Paige said behind me.

That was another thing I thought was strange about Reece and Paul. They’d been dating for a year, yet she had never taken him to meet our friends on our Friday nights at the pub. I was sure Pip had met him, but none of the guys had. Well, until tonight, then.

“Five more minutes,” I said to Cody and then shut his door. I turned to Paige. “They asked you to babysit?” I tried keeping my tone calm, but I didn’t think it worked.

She shook her head. “I volunteered. They were going to wait until you came to pick him up, but I said I was going to be home anyway, and I could look after him until you got here.”

I nodded. I supposed that was fair. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get snappy, but it annoys me that she has one set of rules and I have another.”

“I get that,” she said quietly. “Did you want something to drink?”

My palms were sweaty from just being around her. I managed a nod. “Water, please.”

We made our way back down the hall. “So, how’s work going?” she asked as she started puttering around the kitchen.

I smiled at the awkward question. It came out so stiff and formal. She was as nervous as I was. “Okay, I guess. It’s work.”

She placed a glass of water down in front of me. “Okay, question?”

“Go ahead.”

“What would you be doing if you hadn’t dropped out of uni?”

I let out a sigh. “I was studying environmental science. It was probably a useless degree, but if I could’ve gotten a job on a city council or something, it would’ve been worth it. I just wanted to work outdoors. Instead, I’m stuck in a stinking-hot factory all day.”

“Ever thought about going back and finishing your degree?”

“I’m twenty-seven, I’m not going back to uni. Not to mention I work full-time and rarely see Cody as it is. I wouldn’t give my time up with him for anything.”

“Fair enough. I just thought there might’ve been night classes or something.”

I appreciated her effort, but it was just another thing to add to the list of why I wanted to be with her. I’d started keeping that list as well, and it was getting longer every damn day.

“Kicked any more puppies lately?” I asked, making her grin.

“All the time. It’s become a favourite pastime. Eaten any Brussels sprouts?”

“Last night.” I smiled.

She screwed up her face and shook her head. “Did you want to stay for dinner tonight? Someone has to look out for Cody’s health. Subjecting your kid to Brussels sprouts should be concern for child services.”

My smile faded. I knew she was only joking, and she didn’t know any better, but Reece
had
actually called DOCS on me before, so I didn’t really find it funny. “I … I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Cody’s here. It’s not like I’m going to jump you or anything. I do have some self-control. And we’re bound to run into each other. I always cook too much so there’ll be plenty to go around. While we can’t … you know … date or whatever, we’re kind of forced to at least be friendly.”

“I know. It’s just …” I let out a loud breath. “It’s hard …”

She looked down at my crotch then back up again with her eyebrow quirked.

“Not that! You’ve got such a dirty mind.”

“I can’t help it when I’m around you. You bring it out of me.”

Damn this girl.
“There!
That’s
the reason we can’t stay for dinner. You can’t say stuff like that to me, it goes straight to my—”

“We can’t stay for dinner?” Cody’s voice came from behind me, making me jump.
Thank God, I hadn’t got my whole sentence out.
“Paige’s spaghetti is the best.”

The realisation Cody had eaten Paige’s cooking on more than one occasion stung. Even she got to see him more than I did.

“And it just so happens that I’m cooking spaghetti,” she said to him with a smile before looking at me. “Seriously, Cole, it’s fine. Stay for dinner.”

I bent down for Cody as he leaned into me to whisper, “I promise, Dad, it’s better than Mum’s.”

I laughed. “If you really want to stay and eat spaghetti with your sister, then we will, okay?”

“Paige said she’s not my sister.”

Standing up straight again, I shot daggers at Paige who winced. “Why did she say that, bud?”

“She said it’s the older sister’s job to snitch on little brothers and do other mean things. She said she doesn’t want to be my sister, she wants to be my friend instead. That way, she doesn’t have to be mean.”

My anger disappeared and I tried not to smile, but I knew I was totally failing. “Okay, well then, how about we stay here for dinner and eat with your
friend
?”

He nodded. “Can I go back to playing PlayStation until dinner’s ready?”

“Go for it.”

He ran back to his room, and Paige started busying herself in the kitchen, refusing to make eye contact with me.

When she did finally look up, I was still smiling. “Don’t want to be his sister, hey? There couldn’t be another reason for that, could there?”

“Shut up,” she whined. “I said that to him before we decided this couldn’t go anywhere. You know, the second time we decided that, not the first.”

“Is there anything I can do to help to get dinner ready?” I asked, letting her off the hook, even though I loved the way her cheeks were flushed.

“It’s all good. You not being able to cook is one of the things on my list, remember?”

I laughed. “I never learned how to. I’m great at picking up takeaway.”

“How you and Reece survived at all while you were married is beyond me.”

“Cheese toasties. We were very familiar with those.”

“But spaghetti is so easy. Come here, I’ll show you.”

“Really? You’re going to teach me how to cook?”

“For Cody. He can’t live on takeaway while he stays at yours.”

“Hunter’s actually pretty great in the kitchen. Another reason why I never had to learn.”

“Well, you’re not going to live with him forever, are you?”

I shrugged. “Maybe. He certainly doesn’t seem to want to settle down anytime soon. I won’t ever either, so who knows, maybe I
will
live with Hunter forever. Besides, his looks won’t last much longer. He won’t have any money to move out.”

“I dunno. I think Hunter’s the type of guy who only gets better with age.”

I narrowed my eyes and studied her face. “Are you blushing?” I asked. “Do you have a crush on my roommate?”

“Would you be jealous if I did?” She turned and stared at me, that impish grin of hers appearing. I cocked my head to the side, making her laugh. “I don’t. I can just appreciate an extremely good-looking man.”

“Yeah, okay, even I’ll admit he’s a good-looking bastard.” I walked around the kitchen bench so I was standing next to her. “Okay, teach me how to cook spaghetti.”

****

It was so easy being with Paige. There was no drama, no attention seeking. Cooking together and eating at the table with her and Cody, it was like getting a glimpse of what our future could possibly be. But then I remembered that it could never be like that. It wasn’t a possibility, and by letting tonight happen, I was setting myself up for more disappointment.

“Dad?” Cody said as he shovelled in his last forkful of pasta. “Are you ever going to have a fiancée?”

I was glad I had nothing in my mouth or I’m sure I would’ve choked. “Huh?”

“Well, Mum has a fiancé, and he’s going to be my stepdad. Am I going to have a stepmum one day?”

“Probably not, buddy.”

“Why not?”

After a lengthy silence because I had no idea what to say, Paige tried to come to my rescue. “Because your dad doesn’t even have a girlfriend.”

“Why not?”

Welcome to the land of kids, Paige. It’s never that easy.

“Because … uh …”

“Because I don’t want one. Girls have cooties.” I shuddered exaggeratedly. “How about you go play while Paige and I do the dishes, and then we’ll head home, okay?”

“Okay.” He was out of his seat and in his room before I’d even stood up.

I started clearing the plates to put them in the sink.

“You don’t have to do that. I can do the dishes,” Paige said, following me into the kitchen.

I didn’t think, I just pounced, pinning her against the bench, my hands going on either side of her. Slowly pressing my body against hers, I almost let out a contented sigh. I belonged next to her. It was where I was meant to be. But I couldn’t have her and it was killing me.

“Cole,” she said, almost completely breathless.

“You never call me Hemsworth anymore.” I pouted.

“Don’t pout. It’s not sexy.”

I laughed.

“And I do. You just don’t see it.” She pulled out her phone, showing me our recent text conversation. I’m in her phone as Hemsworth. “Sara calls you either Luke, Chris, or Liam on any given day. Sometimes Thor, sometimes Gale. You’re still very much a Hemsworth to us.”

“You talk to Sara about me?”

“No,” she said quickly. Too quickly.

I moved my head closer to hers, our cheeks touching as I whispered in her ear, “That sounds like a lie, Shortcake.”

She tilted her head away from me, giving me access to her neck. My lips kissed her gently, causing her to moan.

“Why can’t I stay away from you?” I whispered against her skin.

“Probably the same reason I practically pushed Reece and my dad out of the house before, just so I could see you.”

“I think we need to go on a date. A proper, real life date.” I found myself saying the words before I’d actually thought them through.

She stilled against me. “Isn’t that against all your rules?”

Screw it, it was out there now.
“Do you think me wanting to fuck you on this kitchen bench fits in with my rules? Clearly, we suck at this not touching thing. Shouldn’t we at least give this a go? If there comes a time where we think it’s getting serious, we’ll talk to Reece and your dad about it, and we’ll try and work it out. But until then, there’s nothing really to say, is there? We might go on a few dates and decide we’re all wrong for each other …”
Although, I doubt it.
“All I know is, I want to spend as much time with you as I can.”